The Health and Human Rights Project has been sponsoring delegations to Israel/Palestine for ten years. Our objective is to document conditions on the ground of the population living under Occupatoin and bring those stories, pictures and video back to the United States. HaHRP is a project of American Jews For A Just Peace www.ajjp.org. The individual postings below of the HaHRP Delegations do not necessarily represent the official position of HaHRP or AJJP.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Greetings from the Brownshirts and Klansmen of Hebron 10-21 A. Rothchild

The day starts grey and edgy for me,
not only because we are going to visit the alternative universe of Hebron, but
also because the visit will start out with meeting David Wilder, a spokesmen for
the (most aggressive intolerant) Jewish community in Hebron. Some in our group
feel that morally they cannot sit down with this man, (would I meet with a
Klansmen?); others feel this is an unusual opportunity to observe and
understand the enemy.For a delegation
devoted to nonviolent struggle, I am finding little love and tolerance in my
heart; in fact, I do not know if I will be able to be remotely civil.We agree as a group to be civil.I will bite my tongue, sit on my hands, and
be grateful that I (unlike David) do not carry a gun.

We head south from the Paradise
Hotel in Bethlehem, past stores with pomegranates, bananas, junk food, overly
upholstered furniture, car repair shops, and Chinese made plastic stuff
spilling onto the sidewalk.I realize
that not only am I holding my breath, but I have already started wheezing, the
feeling of suffocation is beginning.

Ironically Hebron or Al Khalil is
derived from the word friend. The city is a major economic center with
limestone quarries, grape production, glass factories, and a vigorous
commercial center. Strangling on its own history, I think it is interesting to
note that in the Bible, when Abraham came as a refugee to Hebron, he wanted to buy
property and paid 400 shekels (or whatever the silver coins were called)
from the Canaanites, (no hostile occupation, stone throwing, well poisoning, Jewish
exceptionalism). He bought the double cave of Machpelah and as they say, they
rest is history. I will fast forward to the Arab massacre of Jews in 1929 one
week after Zionists raised a Jewish flag at Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall (with many
questions regarding the role of the British in this catastrophe) and also note
that many Jews were saved by their Arab neighbors. After 1967 a group of very
right-wing Jewish settlers led by a charismatic rabbi from Brooklyn came to a
hotel in Hebron to celebrate Passover and declared they would never leave. A
deal was struck with the Israeli army which ultimately led to the establishment
of the nearby settlement of Kiryat Arba in 1971. In the 1990s, a group of 400
settlers (which included 250 yeshiva students) decided to move into the Old
City, into homes that they claimed were originally Jewish, and in 1994 a
physician, Baruch Goldstein, massacred 29 and injured 200 Muslims praying at
the Ibrahimi Mosque in the middle of Ramadan. He was killed by the angry mob,
but none of his supporters were prosecuted and the Palestinians were put under
curfew for months. With the Wye Agreement, Netanyahu divided the city into two
parts: the Old City of H2 under Israeli control and the western area of H1 under
Palestinian control.There are now
250,000 Palestinians living in Hebron and approximately 500-850 Jewish settlers
under the protection of 500 security forces of one kind or another.

We travel through rich farm land,
with neat squares of vineyards and other vegetables and pass one of the 20
entrances to H1 that have been blocked by concrete blocks, leaving three to four
open for traffic. We turn into the settlement of Kiryat Arba, an Israeli flag
hanging from a balcony, the houses are neat and orderly, there is a row of
caravans, guards at the checkpoint are chatting. When they learn we are
tourists from America, they wave us through. This is a residential settlement
of ideological settlers and I am told many of the apartments are empty.

At Beit Hadassah, David Wilder
greets us and takes us on a tour of a “museum” of Jewish history, multiple
cave-like rooms with photos and historical timelines. He is a short, compact man
with a trim beard, kippah on his head, Glock at his waist, a New Jersey
accent.I study him carefully; he has an
easy, friendly manner, “Don’t be bashful, I’ve heard everything. I can’t
promise you will like my answers,” and projects an air of authority and warmth
that could be disarming to the misinformed, I can imagine him as one of
Romney’s PR handlers.He presents us
with a context-free history of the Jewish people that is a complicated mixture
of half truths, outright lies, and racist paranoia. His basic message is: there
is abundant evidence that this placebelongs to the Jews from time immemorial, we must learn from the past
(Holocaust, pogroms, betrayals), in 1967 we came back to our rightful home, the
Arabs want to kill us and cannot be trusted, (we gave Gaza “sovereignty and
they gave us bombs”), we need to take care of Iran before it is too late, (remember
the Holocaust), the Jews are always the victims (we only have 3% of Hebron,
here the Jews continue to be the victims). I was astonished to learn that the separation
wall was necessary not only to prevent suicide attacks, but also car thefts,
(message: Arabs are thieves). There is no acknowledgement of anyone else’s
suffering, loss, rights, etc, and he plays dumb when asked about Jewish
violence or aggression or culpability for anything.He was unaware that the local settlers
celebrate Goldstein’s actions; are you kidding? Just google David Wilder, or
even better, Youth Against the Settlements for something approximating reality.
He states he is happy to engage in dialogue with Arabs who are interested in
peace; he is a reasonable man who is only here to protect his people and what
is rightfully theirs. Unfortunately he has many grandchildren.

Luckily for my coronary arteries, we
next meet up with Issa Amro from Youth Against the Settlements. He is an
electrical engineer, born in the Old City in a house that is now a closed
military zone.He is married, owns a
house, and has a wife and eleven month old son. He describes the 550
Palestinian shops that have been closed by military order on Shuhada Street,
once a vibrant market and city center. Because of the flying checkpoints and
enormous military presence, a host of other shops are closed due to lack of
shoppers, afraid for their own safety.Settlers have freely attacked and humiliated Palestinians and defaced
and destroyed their homes and shops. In the small area where we are standing,
there are twenty checkpoints, and he describes humiliating body searches, two
to three hour waits, a “killing from the inside.”He talks about Israeli military preventing
him from helping his 70 year old ill mother out a side door of her home because
she is also forbidden to go out the front door onto the (Arab-rein)
street. He points to the graffiti ridden concrete wall at the end of the street,
blocking access to the Muslim cemetery on the other side. As he talks, his
energy and sense of outrage about all the obstructions rises, as he explains,
“I can jump!” I look up and spot a
soldier watching us from a roof top; the eyes of security are everywhere. When
Issa and his friends get arrested at demonstrations, his Israeli friends are
released in 24 hours, (Israeli civil law); while he sits in jail for up to eight
days before seeing a judge, (Israeli military law).

We gather at a long table facing a
courtyard where I have eaten before, the falafel with fresh lettuce, tomato,
and tahini sauce topped with French fries (why do they taste so good here?)
arrive along with the mandatory Coke and orange soda.In 2000 during the Second Intifada, seven
shops in this courtyard were closed by military order.The adjacent building is desperately in need
of restoration, but the Israeli military will not grant permits so the building
will gradually collapse and then the IDF will seize the land, although there is
strong evidence for Palestinian ownership.He predicts settlers will get into the building and through various machinations,
the land will be declared public and ultimately become part of the settlement
He adds that the role ofthe IDF is not
only to get rid of Palestinians in Hebron, but also to destroy Palestinian
identity here.

Talk turns to David Wilder, “The crazy man,” as Issa remarks.According to Issa, two weeks ago on Olive
Day, settlers attacked Palestinians harvesting their own olives and as usual
the Israeli soldiers dismissed the Palestinians. David took photos and film of
the event, describing Issa on his website as “the head terrorist in Hebron.” Three months ago, according to Issa, David
directly threatened him at Tel Rumeida Street and David told him that he will
be hanged by a ledge and eaten by birds.This was all captured on video: (google: Hebron human rights press).
Such a lovely man, David Wilder! Issa talks about a protest in June where
international, Israeli, and Palestinian women dressed in traditional
Palestinian dress and walked down the forbidden Shuhadah Street. February 25th
is now an international day of action to Open Shuhada Street. Youth Against the
Settlements has a samoud project where volunteers choose a home close to
the settlers (which has been repeatedly attacked, defaced, etc) and help with
repairs, painting, and gardening. They teach human rights journalism and have a
center for teaching Hebrew, English, law, and nonviolence. They act as Hebron
defenders, forming human shields when settlers attack.He worked with the Freedom Bus where six
activists went inside a settlement and boarded a Jewish-only bus. “We were
beaten.” Memories of freedom marches, sit-ins, and bus boycotts from the 1960s
clearly come to mind. I shudder at the parallels Jews faced in Germany, only
the roles here are reversed, victim becomes victimizer. I know in my head that
anyone can be a fascist given the right economic/political/psychological
circumstances, but this is still emotionally wrenching and enraging to witness,
particularly because the settler community is protected and funded and used as
a spearhead by the Israeli government.

Issa explains that Israeli soldiers
have two roles: protecting Jewish settlers and harassing Palestinians. Issa has
been personally beaten by settlers twice and required five stitches. He has had
his life threatened, and is the target of frequent verbal abuse. He admits that
Palestinians do attack settlers, but it is rare, (I have yet to see an armed
Palestinian, while armed nonmilitary settlers are commonplace).Additionally settlers do not get punished for
their appalling behavior. When a settler broke Issa’s nose, he was suspended
from coming into Hebron for one month.That is about as punitive as it gets. Ironically, Issa notes, the
oppressors are afraid of the oppressed.

Issa tells of receiving a phone call
at 3 am that Jewish settlers were picking olives belonging to the local
Palestinians. “Who picks olives at 3:00 in the morning?”The next day a group of activists ambushed
the settlers at 2 am, the settlers took their cameras, soldiers arrived, more
soldiers, stones were thrown by both parties. No charges. The impunity is
official.

Issa insists that Jews and Moslems
can live together if they have the will; he understands that there are many
Jewish holy sites in the region, but they have to live together as equals
without occupation.He has no problem
with Jews living anywhere they want, but if they wish to live in the West Bank,
they should have Palestinian citizenship. He is proud that his father (of the Abu
Ayash family) protected Jews in 1929; now the same families are suffering at the
hands of the settlers.He observes thoughtfully,
“Settlers are not Jews.” This comment somewhat parallels the opinion of many
Israelis that the right wing settler movement has hijacked Israel and the
opinion of an increasing number of progressive Jews in the US that Judaism has
been corrupted by Zionism.And then I am
reminded of the comment made by a respected member of the Jewish community in
Boston: “You don’t understand, Israel is Judaism.”

Issa introduces Sundus Al Azzaeh, an
18 year old student at the Al Quds Open University. She confirms Issa’s
descriptions and adds that water and electricity are also under Israeli
control, and are provided unreliably, at a fraction of what the settlers
receive. She can’t move freely, has to go through at least two checkpoints daily,
and lives near the notorious Barukh Marzel who regularly throws stones, eggs,
vegetables, and physically attacks her neighbors and family. Sometimes the IDF
does nothing and sometimes they join in with the settlers. Two months ago a big
hulky (Brooklyn) settler attempted to run over her 13 year old brother and then
beat him. The IDF did nothing. The diminutive Sundus tried to protect her
brother and was arrested and charged with attacking the settler. She and her
brother spent five hours in the police station, are now faced with a fine, and
a police record that may interfere with their ability to get future permits.
Another settler woman grabbed her six year old brother and shoved a stone into
his mouth and then crushed his jaws together, breaking his teeth. There were no
charges. This up close and personal violence is breathtakingly painful, but is
the daily reality here. Sundus is studying English, wants to be translator,
although she admits she may end up teaching. She laughs shyly and says, “I hope
to be famous for helping people, especially the poor.”For many in our delegation, traveling with a
group of US civil and human rights leaders, this kind of resilience,
determination, and dignity remind us of
the legacy of Martin Luther King and the brave souls who worked with and after
him in the long struggle for justice and equality.